Meredith says that curry is somewhat of a mystery to her.

I was browning some chicken with an uncertain future tonight, and asked her how she’d like it. Lemon pepper? Garlic? Sauced? We decided on curry, and I showed her a simple, basic curry, full of deep, smoky flavor and the tang of tomato sauce, made from pantry items.

Quick Tomato Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken drumsticks
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup curry powder*
• 4 cups tomato sauce

Melt the butter in a dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned. Add curry powder; stir to coat. Cook until highly fragrant. Add tomato sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 1 hour or until chicken is fully cooked and tender and sauce has reduced. Serve over rice or cous cous; garnish with yogurt if desired.

*I use my own mild homemade curry powder. There are plenty of recipes on the internet for mild to hotter varieties. Whether you use your own or a store-bought variety, I’d recommend tailoring the quantity to your taste.

Tip: If you prefer to use store-bought curry, seek out your local ethnic market, where you can find fresher, less expensive curry powder than what you’ll find in your supermarket’s spice rack.

We’ve been lucky, on a few occasions, to be gifted with a bag of mushrooms from a fellow vendor at the mid-week market where we sell our jewelry. This was a lucky week. It’s also been a busy week, so we didn’t get to play with the mushrooms until today. Cut up and combined with gorgeous, just-picked purple potatoes from our market neighbors Jack and Doris, the ’shrooms became a meaty, earthy, fresh, end-of-summer dish that I’ll remember for a good long time.

Fresh Purple Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 quart purple potatoes
• 1 quart mixed mushrooms (we used button and porcini, because that’s what we were given)
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• Salt to taste
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Wash potatoes and mushrooms and pat dry. Slice potatoes approximately 1/4″ thick, halving or quartering large potatoes as necessary to achieve a consistent size. Set aside. Slice or roughly chop mushrooms. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 stick butter. When butter has melted, add half of the potato slices. Salt to taste. Cook until potatoes have taken on a blueish hue and are barely fork-tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat with 1/2 stick butter, salt, and remaining potaotes. Set aside. Add remaining butter to pan. When melted, add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have given off their liquid and pan is almost dry. Remove from heat.

Combine potatoes and mushrooms in a large mixing bowl. Turn out into 8×8″ baking dish and top with parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° F for 30 minutes.

Serves 6-8.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 shallots, diced
• 2 cloved garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed (if canned) or soaked and cooked (if dried)
• Medium-grain rice, prepared as per package directions
• Cheese or sour cream (optional)

Heat the oil in a large, shallow pan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until golden. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add beans and stir fry for 5 minutes. Serve over rice and garnish with cheese or sour cream.

This was Mer’s delightful creation one night, so I’ve left it in her words rather than the format I typically use for recipes. It’s simple and flavorful and yummy.

Take take two strips of bacon, fry them crispy, and remove them from the pan. Saute half a teaspoon of garlic paste, several shakes of oregano, several shakes of basil, several shakes of dried onion, and saute until brown. Add two cups of cooked pasta (I used mafalda, but just about anything would work in a pinch), toss, and saute until it’s sufficiently brown. Add in a cup of peas and the bacon (now crumbled), toss and keep cooking until everything is hot and yummy. Plate, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, nom.

Tomato Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs chicken parts (bone-in, skin-on)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup dried minced onions
• 1/4 cup garlic paste
• 1/4 cup dried basil
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons ground rosemary
• 5 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups rice

Brown the chicken pieces in the oil in a cast iron dutch oven. (If you’re using skinless chicken, you may need to add additional oil or butter.) Remove from pan and set aside to cool. When meat has cooled, remove meat from bones and return meat to pan. (Now would be a good time to package up those bones for some future chicken stock.) Place over medium heat and stir in onion, garlic,  and herbs. Cook until chicken begins to brown. Add stock, tomato sauce, and rice; stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, for 45-50 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

The end result yields an insane amount of chicken-rice…stuff that freezes well and tastes damn good.

Brownielicious Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds plus two tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces cocoa powder
• 7 eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup plus three tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 F; grease and flour two 13×9″ pans. Toss 1/2 pound chocolate chips with 3 tablespoons flour and set aside.

Melt the butter and one pound of the chocolate chips together (use your preferred method: microwave or double boiler are fine). Set aside to cool. In a very large bowl, stir together the eggs, coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Mix in the cooled chocolate and set aside to cool completely.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa. Add to the cooled chocolate and mix well. Stir in the floured chips and pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tester is almost clean. Cool, cut, and enjoy.

There was a storm rolling in yesterday, so it was a bit warm and sticky. We were craving something sweet, but didn’t want to fire up the oven, so I started digging through my no-bake recipies for somethign quick and easy. This recipe started life as a no-bake peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe, but once set, Mer immediately declared it “oatmeal fudge”. Chocoholics can add 1/4 cup cocoa to the mix to make chocolate peanut butter oatmeal fudge.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Fudge

Ingredients:

• 3 2/3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter

In a large bowl, combine oats, peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and powdered milk; mix until few lumps remain and peanut butter is well-distributed. Set aside.

Melt butter and sugar in a sauté pan or shallow sauce pan over medium heat; stir in water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture boils. Hold at a rolling boil for 90 seconds. Carefully pour hot syrup over oat mixture and stir to combine. (This takes a bit of elbow grease.) Once mixed, gather the dough into balls (portion control is up to you) and place on sheet pans lined with silicone baking mats, parchment, or waxed paper. Flatten with a spatula and set aside to cool.

At room temperature, fudge will set in about 30 minutes; refrigeration speeds up the process.

The Players
One arrives home, hungry and tired; the other works tirelessly at the computer but lazes about when dinner is afoot. Minor characters as noted.

Act 1: The Pot
Water and chicken base join forces to make a broth. Corn and potatoes, separated from their cans, join the game. The party, now ablaze, bubbles mightily. Apple cider vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, dried onion, celery salt, basil, and black pepper also contribute to the fray.

Act 2: The Arrival
Biscuit mix, born months ago from a marriage of flour and sundry other powders, bonds with its wet destiny to form The Goo. The Goo rudely crashes the party, dropping from above into the mix without announcement.

Act 3: The Serving
Ten minutes have passed since The Goo’s arrival. A large spoon arrives to disperse the gathering. Four to six smaller gatherings result.

Denouement
The players sit with happy bellies.

Exeunt players.

Yeah, I know. It’s been a long day, and dinner was surprisingly good for something that consisted of little more than canned vagetables and good thoughts.

Downtime Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken drumsticks, bone-in, skin on
• 1/4 cup garlic paste
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• Splash apple cider vinegar
• Splash lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chicken base
• Dash celery salt
• 1/2 cup currants
• 2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a large pot; cover. Simmer gently over low heat for 3-4 hours or until chicken falls off the bone. Enjoy your downtime.